It's A Secret
by Soda is Sexy
Summary: Pony meets a girl. She has a secret, and he tries to help her. Read and Review!
1. At the Pool

Disclaimer-I don't own the Outsiders, but how I wish I could...

_The title may seem a little weird, but read it and tell me what you think! I have more ideas for the next chapter. This takes place after the story, but Johnny and Dally are still alive._

**Chapter 1**

_**Pony's POV**_

I woke up. It was bright outside. Soda was still sleeping, and he was snoring quite loud. He didn't normally, and I thought it was kind of funny. I started laughing and it woke him up. That made me laugh even harder.

"Hey what's so funny?" he asked, half smiling.

"You were snoring really loud, then when I was laughing at you woke up." He just sat there and looked at me.

"You know, you're weird, kid." He said, half laughing. He got out of bed and put on some pants and changed his shirt. And after that he went to the bathroom.

"Yeah, I know." I told him down the hall. Darry came in after that.

"Hey kiddo, breakfast is ready. Pancakes." Yay. I love pancakes. During breakfast, Soda asked,

"Hey, wanna go to the pool today?" It was random, but I didn't mind if we went. I haven't been to the community pool since I was little. Everyone said they didn't like to go there because a lot of Socs went there and little kids were overcrowding it all the time.

"Why, is some girl meeting you there?" I asked. I was on a roll today. His ears were turning red. That usually happened to me.

"No, I just haven't been there in a while." He said. It sounded like he was lying, but I didn't really think much of it. Darry looked at us both.

"I don't see why not. I don't have work today. It's a Sunday. Any Socs?" he asked, looking particularly at me.

"No, they're too cool to go to the pool anymore." Soda said sarcastically. We all laughed. It was turning out to be an okay day so far. Two-Bit came in then, beer in hand, of course.

"Hey greasers, what are you doin here?" he said with a laugh.

"Well, we were goin to the pool, grease, maybe you should go. It would help you, you dirty grease." I said back, smiling.

"yeah well I'm gonna go get my suit, unless you want me to go naked." He laughed all the way out the door and I could hear him all the way down the street. A few minutes later when me and Soda were doing the dishes, Dally and Johnny came in the door, without knocking, like they always do. Dally had the usual tough, tuff look on his face, and Johnny the sad, lost looking face. I really do wonder how they get along so well. I invited them there and Dally said yes, so Johnny automatically agreed to go as well. Johnny worshipped Dallas Winston. I don't know why he does, either. Well, both of their parents don't really care about them. Maybe they have some kind of connection or something. I don't know. I saw Soda pick up the phone and dialed a number

"Hello? Steve, yeah we're going to the pool. Meet us there". I didn't like Steve, because he didn't like me. He thought I was a tagalong kid and I never even asked. Soda asked me to go. I bet he was just jealous, because Soda and I are real close. I reminded myself I was being kind of mean, so I stopped. We all ran out the door. Everyone was so happy today. Darry did a cartwheel off the porch, and Soda did a somersault onto the car. Dally just jumped off the fence, laughing. Me and Johnny just started walking. I didn't even put on my bathing suit. I haven't really been comfortable around water since, well, those Socs tried to drowned me in the fountain. I just kind of freak out around it. Well, not like taking a bath or washing the dishes. We got to the pool.

"Hey Pony, where's your swimmin suit?" Soda asked me.

"Oh, I must of forgot it at home. Oh well. I'll just sit here and watch I'll be fine I don't really mind anyways." I lied. I still didn't tell them I was afraid of water. They would probably think I'm weird or something.

"Forgot your bathing suit when you're going to a pool? Jeez, Pony, you never use your head!" Darry said. I didn't care. As long as I had an excuse not to get in the water. I went up to the food stand and bought some fries. I went back to my seat and just watched. Soda jumped off of the diving board and did a full flip. All the others tried to do better than him, Darry being the best. Then a girl arguing with a boy came and sat down next to me. She was prettier than all the girls there. But then again, I didn't really look at the girls who were wearing really tight, small bathing suits trying to get the boy's attention. She had light brown hair and bright blue eyes. They were beautiful. She was wearing a dark blue t shirt which made her eyes seem brighter. She had on jeans, even though it was hot outside. I decided to say hi.

"Hey, what's up?" I said, kind of politely. She didn't even look at me and said real short,

"hey". What was with this chick? I didn't think I was that bad.

"How come your not in the pool?" I said trying to make small talk. So much for that. She didn't answer me, or even look at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I could tell she was upset about something.

"Fine" was all she said. The guy she was arguing with came back. He shoved a hotdog at her.

"Here, eat it, now" emphasizing the now. It made her jump, and that reminded me of Johnny. The guy looked around real fast, and was staring at a girl close by in a pink bikini.

"I'm going to the bathroom, sit there, and don't move. Understand?" he said and stomped off. Why is that guy treating her so bad?

"Who is that?" she gave me a scared look, like a little kid, lost and confused.

"My boyfriend." She said.

"If he's your boyfriend, why is he treating you like that?" Nobody should treat a girl like that.

"Look, I'm fine, it was my fault. I made him mad, okay?" she said.

"Why? What did you do?" I was kind of curious.

"Well, he told me we were going to the pool, and I told him I wanted to go swimming. And he got really mad. He doesn't like it when other boys can look at me. But that's why he wanted to come here, to look at all the girls." This sounded funny.

"Then why do you like him so much?" it was stupid. Why would you like someone like that?

"well, he's really a nice person when you get to know him. He's a little rough around the edges." She didn't look to old, either. But he did.

"How old is he?" I asked.

"18"

"How old are you?"

"14" I knew something was wrong. "I am in your grade at your school. Your name is Ponyboy. You're in my math class. You're really smart." She didn't look familiar, but I believed her. I looked at her arm. There was a bruise and a few scratches. I looked at her arm, and she covered it up real quick.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Oh, I uh, fell down the stairs. I am really clumsy like that." You couldn't get a scratch like that from falling down the stairs. I knew she was lying.

_So what do you think? Review! I already know what I'm going to do for the next chapter!_


	2. Something's Wrong

_So, how is it? I guess I'm kind of fast at updating, since I have no life, lol just kidding. But like I said, I have a lot of ideas for this story! Review, review, review!_

**Disclaim- I don't own the Outsiders, just Jamie and Shane.**

**Chapter 2**

**Pony's POV**

I looked at her, and she just looked away. I totally forgot, but I didn't know her name.

"What's your name?" I asked, feeling stupid. She knew my name.

"Jamie" she said quickly and quietly.

"Oh yeah, Jamie Anderson. You are in my math. You sit in the front" now I knew who she was, I just didn't recognize her at first. She just nodded. Then she looked at me real quick.

"Uh oh, here comes Shane, pretend like I haven't been talking to you. He doesn't like it when I talk to other boys. I'll see you at school." She looked at Shane coming back out. He didn't notice us talking because he was busy looking at another girl, whistling at her, too. Then she came up to Jamie.

"Alright, we're leaving. Let's go." He said forcefully, grabbing her shirt and yanking her up. What was his problem? Why was he treating her like that? I decided to follow them to the parking lot, without them noticing, of course. He didn't let go of her until they got out of the pool gates. He looked at her.

"I saw you sitting next to that boy, did you talk to him while I was gone?" he grabbed her chin and made her look him in the face.

"No, Shane, I didn't" she lied.

"You'd better not be lying. And don't get mouthy with me" he slapped her across the face, and she looked away. This was not right at all. I had to go tell someone.

I ran back to the pool, and everyone was getting out anyways. They saw me looking a little mad, and asked me what was wrong.

"oh, nothing. I'm fine. Really." I didn't want to look at them in the face, since Darry or Soda could tell I was lying. They all put on their shirts and hopped in the car. When we got home, I told Soda I needed to talk to him alone.

"Sure, little buddy." He said heading towards our room. "What's up?" he asked. He looked so happy, so carefree.

"Well, we were at the pool, this girl sat next to me." I started looking away.

"Ooh, a girl! Pony's got a girl?" he was smiling now.

"No, Soda. She's in my class, but her boyfriend is 18 and he hits her. She had a bruise on he arm, but she said it was from falling. I followed them into the parking lot and he hit her in the face." I spat out really quick.

"Oh no, Pony. That's terrible. I don't really know what to do. Maybe we should tell Darry or something."

"No, Soda we can't. She didn't even want me to know in the first place. Promise me you won't tell Darry."

"Okay, little buddy, I promise." He looked real sincere, and I knew he wasn't lying. I needed to talk to Jamie at school tomorrow.

I had English first hour. It was usually my favorite, but I was thinking about Jamie the whole hour. A few times, my teacher, Mr. Syme asked me a question and I just sat there, thinking.

"Ponyboy? Hello, Ponyboy." I looked at him. "Well thanks for joining us." He said when I looked up. The whole class kind of laughed at me. I don't know why, it really wasn't that funny. A kid was sleeping in the corner. The bell rang, and I almost ran out of there, since math was my second hour. I sat in my seat in the middle row, waiting for Jamie to come into class. The warning bell rang and she didn't come in, but she came in a little bit before the bell rang. I walked up to her desk.

"Hey, Jamie." I said, I wanted to ask her so many things, though it would be rude.

"Hey" she said, just like the last time.

"So, how are you doing today?" I felt so stupid, but I couldn't think of anything to say. She smiled at me real sweet, and my ears were turning red. Good thing the teacher told us to sit down, because I could have ended up saying something real stupid. The class hour went by so slow, and I was dying to talk to Jamie. The bell rang and I ran up to her desk. She had another bruise on her chin. It made my stomach tie in a knot.

"Hey, everything okay, outside of school, I mean?" I sounded like some kind of counselor-therapist thing.

"Yeah, just fine" how could she lie about everything? How could she keep it all in?

"I saw what Shane did to you in the parking lot. Does he do that to you a lot? Its not right, you know."

"Well, only when I deserve it. I really don't mind. I love him a lot. I really do." It was killing me inside to know about this and not do anything about it. She just walked away from me.

Next Day At School

I somehow managed to get through my English class again. I ran to Math again and waited for Jamie. The warning bell went off, and I was expecting her to come in. But the tardy bell rang and she wasn't there. I got another knot in my stomach. I went up to my teacher, Mrs. Turner.

"Hey, Mrs. Turner, where's Jamie today?" I said, kind of scared.

"Oh, her older brother called and said she fell out of bed and got hurt, and couldn't come to school today. Oh yeah, would you mind giving her her homework?" yeah right, her older brother. Shane had done something to her, and I had the perfect chance of going to her house.

"Yeah, that would be great." I took the papers out of her hand. I went up to one of her friends, and asked her where Jamie lived. She was distracted by something and told me. Good thing she was distracted, other wise she probably wouldn't tell me. Jamie wasn't a Soc, but not a greaser. She was one of the normal people who was middle class. I managed to sit through the rest of the day and I ran out of the school building and straight to Jamie's house.

I knocked on the big brown door. A familiar face opened the door. It was Shane. He gave me a mad face, and asked me,

"Hello. How may I help you?" I didn't think a person like him could have manners. I went on anyways.

"Oh yeah, I'm here to see Jamie." He gave me a dirty look and said

"Why? Who are you?"

"I'm Ponyboy Curtis. I was sent here by our math teacher to give Jamie her homework." I said, hoping her would let me in, and wouldn't recognize me from the pool.

"Yeah, okay" he stuck out a hand.

"Oh, no, teacher told me I had to go in and explain it to her" it was a stupid lie, but I figured he was stupid enough to believe me.

"Whatever, but make it quick" he let me in. Jamie was sitting on the couch, part of her face was swollen and her arm bruised and scratched. It made me cringe inside, but I didn't say anything, since Shane sat on the chair right across from us. He was looking through some kind of girl magazine. I glanced at him and at Jamie. She had the saddest look in her eyes, and I began explaining some kind of theory I made up. I wrote on the paper, _I know Shane did this to you. It's not right, call me later, if you can, please. _I left my phone number, and left. This was not right, not right at all.

_What do you think? Review! Tell me what you think please!_


	3. A Turn For the Worse

_Ok, I only had a few reviews, but that's ok. But here's more for the people who do read this. More POVs sorry if they change a lot at first._

**Disclaim- I do not own the Outsiders, only the ones I made up :) **

Chapter 3 Pony's POV 

As soon as I got home, I sat on the couch waiting for the phone to ring. I just wish she could call me, just to let me know things were ok. I had just really met her two days ago, but I was so worried about her. At around 8 I fell asleep. An hour later I was woken up by a forceful Darry shaking me hard, not on purpose.

"Hey, Pony, some girl is on the phone for you." he said. I could see that Two-Bit was sitting on a chair beside me.

"Ooh, Pony picked himself up a lady. Is she blonde?" Man, this was embarrassing. My ears were on fire.

"Shut up Two-Bit, she's just my friend" I said picking up the phone.

Darry's POV 

Pony was being real quiet on the phone. I wonder what he was talking about, to girls of all people. He hadn't really gotten into that stage yet. I tried to listen, though, to what he was saying. Then, real loud, he said,

"Jamie, I'll be over there in a few minutes." and hung up the phone. He grabbed his jacket and headed towards the door.

"Hey Pony, where you goin?" I said.

"Out, be back before 10" he said quickly and left. That was good enough for me, but I didn't really want him going out alone after what happened, but I figured he might be alright. He's been kind of quiet lately.

Pony's POV 

I headed out the door as fast as I could. I only got to talk to Jamie for a few minutes, and then I could hear Shane and her yelling in the back round and I heard the phone click, and that got me really worrying. How could she really love this guy? I was going to stop all this. It took me about a half an hour to get to her house when I was running, but it was all worth it. I got to her door and didn't even knock and opened the door. I ran inside, and I could hear Jamie screaming from upstairs. I ran up there and I seen Shane hitting her real hard all over; on her face, arms, legs, body, he was pulling her hair and everything. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How could someone treat a girl like this? How could someone treat anything like this?

"Hey, you leave her alone" I said, a little louder than I intended to. I was never the confident, loud type, but I couldn't sit there and let them watch. I hated it when me or Johnny or someone got jumped, and people on the street just sat and watched. I had to say something, I just had to.

"What? What did you say you little" I wasn't going to let him finish.

"I said leave her alone. What did she do to you?" he walked over to me and I got kind of scared. Jamie just sat there, I don't think she could even get up.

"Look pal, I can do whatever I want to. We love each other, and there's nothing you can do about it." they sure had a funny way of expressing their love. "it would be in your best interest to not tell anyone, got it? I really would hate to see something bad happen to you, I really would." what a jerk. But then, he came up to me and shoved me against the wall. He punched me real hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. Then he punched me in the face, and I knew I would have a black eye before I got home.

"Now, get out and don't tell no one, got it?" I looked at Jamie, and she was nodding her head. She didn't want me to tell anyone either. "I said get out!" He pushed me down the stairs, and I knew there was nothing I could do. Besides, it was already 9:45. I could never be home before10. I had no idea what I was going to do. I walked up my porch slowly and opened the door. I could see from a clock in the window that it was 10:10. Darry was still in the same spot when I had left.

"Hey Pone, a little late, but I'll let it slide" he was becoming a little more lenient nowadays. He looked at my face, and asked,

"Hey little buddy, what happened to you?" he asked. I almost told him, but remembered Jamie's face. I didn't know what to do, so I lied on the spot.

"I was lookin' at something and I ran into a telephone pole, I'm fine." I even managed to get out a fake laugh. I am a good liar, but Darry could tell. He seemed to be a little off today though, because he let me leave on a school night, late too. And, he didn't mind when I was late.

"Do you ever use your head kiddo? No siree bub. Go on to bed, Soda's in there already, I guess he was tired." I didn't want to argue, so I went to the room that me and Soda shared. He was just lying there on the bed. Fully clothed and everything. He just looked at the ceiling, and usually I would have known that something was wrong, but I was busy with my own thoughts. I needed to help Jamie. I got undressed and got under the covers. I looked at Soda.

"Hey, Soda, what's the matter?" I asked. I wish I could tell Soda.

"Oh, nothing, just thinking about Sandy." how could he still like her? How could Jamie still like Shane after all the things he does to her? Love was confusing.

"Hey Soda, can I tell you something?" I can't believe I was going to tell him.

"Yeah, sure Pone, what is it?" he said, propping his head on his elbow.

"Um, this girl. You know the one at the pool, Jamie? Well you know how I said her boyfriend hits her?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, she didn't come to school today, because he hit her real bad. I went there after school to giver her her homework, and I left her with my number. Her boyfriend was screaming at her on the phone, and so I ran over there. She lives half an hour if you run." by this point, my stomach turned into a bit knot. "and he was upstairs hitting her and I ran up there, and he got real mad. He shoved me into a wall and hit me and then pushed me down the stairs. Jamie didn't want me to tell no one, but this is bad, Soda. He hits her real bad. I had to tell someone, and you always understand."

"Sorry you got yourself into all this, Pony. We have to tell someone. Or else Jamie's gonna get hurt worse. We'll tell Darry tomorrow." I had trouble falling asleep, all I could think about was Jamie being hurt right now. I could only hear her screaming.

_Okay, I don't know if it's the best, but review! I love them! I'm not really sure of what the ending should be yet. _


	4. Confessions

_All right, so far I have a whopping 3 reviews! I think I know where this is going. I update fast, don't I? Thanks, NellieGURL for giving me the idea!_

**Disclaim- I do not own The Outsiders, but I own Jamie and Shane and this story!**

_**Chapter 4**_

_**Pony's POV**_

I woke up and Soda's arm was still around me. I gently moved it, trying to not wake him up. So much for that.

"Hey Pony." He said, looking at me with a big smile.

"Hey Soda. I know it's early, but what should I do about Jamie? I am just so worried about her. I wonder how her parents don't know." I looked at the ceiling. I guess Soda could tell I was real upset, because he said

"It'll be okay, buddy. We'll figure something out. Here, I'll go tell Darry right now." I sat up. I wasn't a baby. I could go.

"nah, I'll go." I walked down the hall way in my underwear, but I didn't care. Darry was still in bed, but he was awake. I sat at the end.

"Hey Dar, I've got a problem. Soda says you can help."

"Okay, shoot" I told him exactly what I told Soda. He got a concerned look on his quickly aged face.

"That aint right. No siree bub. I'm gonna go have it out with this guy."

"Oh, no. Darry don't. Please. I wasn't even supposed to tell Soda."

"Well, Pony, these kind of things are where you have to tell someone." He looked at me real good and then put some clothes on. "Come on get dressed. Get Soda and the gang. We're gonna go beat this guy up." Darry sure has been acting funny lately. He doesn't really believe in fighting. But I didn't argue. I hated seeing Jamie like this. I think I actually might be starting to like her. But I didn't tell anyone that. I told Soda and he got all riled up.

"Yes! A fight! We are gonna kick their"

"Soda, its just one guy, relax" I said hotly.

"Hey, don't get smart with me, kid" he said, getting mad. He could be so happy one moment and be so mad the next. "I'm gonna go get Steve and everyone else" Everyone was in our living room within 20 minutes. I thought they were really over reacting to all this. Well, I mean Jamie was important, but they were getting kicks out of this. That aint right either. They piled into Darry's truck and Steve's car and were headed down the road. It only took about a little more than 10 minutes to get there. Why weren't her parents ever there? Darry knocked on the door, and started saying something to him. Shane stepped out onto the porch and shut the door behind him. Then the rest of the gang got out, including me. Then out of nowhere, Dally punched Shane so hard he fell off of the porch. He got back up and punched him in the stomach, like he did to me. Was that all he knew how to do? Then Jamie opened the door.

"What's going on here?" she almost yelled. We all stopped and looked at her. "Ponyboy you said you wouldn't tell anyone!" she started crying, and I hated to see that. I hated to see any girl cry. Then Shane shouted,

"Jamie! Get back in the house, NOW! I thought I told you to stay there and don't come outside?" he started to get back up on the porch, but Darry pulled him down.

"You'd better leave this girl alone. Got it? Now get lost!" he said in a very stern voice. Way to go Darry. I think Shane was starting to cry. He ran into a car and drove off down the road. I was hoping he wasn't coming back.

"what a baby" Dally said.

"All right," Soda said. "Pony, go in and talk to her." Just what I was going to do. I opened the door and she was sitting on the couch. She gave me a look. I honestly didn't know how to take it.

"Pony, how could you tell them? Now look, Shane is gone, and it's all your fault." She can't be serious. We just saved her. Shane was doing terrible things to her.

"What are you talking about? Shane was mistreating you. A girl shouldn't be treated like that. A human being shouldn't be treated like that. Where are your parents, anyways?"

"They work all day. They don't come home until late. They think I'm home alone."

"Okay, so tell me what happened from the beginning. I want to hear it all." I sounded so much like a parent it scared me. Usually I was the one who was being lectured. Now it was the exact opposite.

"Well, about a year ago, I met Shane at a party. I didn't mind that he was older and we went out. We had a lot of fun together, and my parents liked him a lot. He got good grades in school, and had a great life at home, and everything was good. Then one day, he told me that his dad had died. He was real close to his dad. He took it pretty rough. That's when it all began. He was mad, and was taking it out on me. But I was convinced that deep down he really did love me, like he did before. But he always hit me, and I thought it was okay. My parents didn't know since they both work full time. He told me that if I really loved him, I wouldn't tell anyone, so I didn't." wow, this was a lot to take in at once.

"well, do you still love him? I mean, after all the bad things that have happened?" I asked. I was falling for her every moment.

"I don't know. I'm so confused." She started to cry and put her head in her hands. Like I said, I hated to see girls cry, so I moved over to her and put my arm around her.

"It's ok. Do you want to come to my house, just incase he comes back?" I hope I wasn't rushing things.

"Yeah, he'll come back. He always does. But I can't stay too long unless I tell my parents." She said wiping her tears. I opened the door for her, and the gang was standing there, smiling.

"So, Pony _does _got himself a girlie!" Two-Bit said. I didn't even care. Jamie was coming to my house!

_So? I think we need to get rid of this Shane guy. Tell me what you think, I update really fast, remember? Review!!! _


	5. The Reason

_Alright, here's a new chapter. Hope you like it! Thanks for reviewing!!!_

**Disclaim- I don't own the Outsiders**

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Shane's POV**_

How could Jamie do this to me? I got in my car and drove down the road. How could she? How dare she? She never used to be like this. We used to have fun together. We first met at a party, and she didn't really care about the age difference. We were sure we could make it work, even though I was graduating just as she was starting high school. I went to the local high school, and I had plenty of friends. I wasn't popular, and I wasn't a nerd, just one of the normal ones. I liked working on cars, though. I loved cars ever since I can remember. My dad got me into them. He taught me everything I needed to know about them. Jamie started coming to my house more often. Both of my parents liked her, a lot. She got along great with them, and my younger siblings as well. But one day when Jamie was over, I got a phone call. It was from my dad's work. He worked on cars at an auto shop. It was his manager. He called to tell me or my mother that something had happened to my dad. He was working on a car, and the stands broke and the car fell on him, killing him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and that's when it all began. I hung up the phone, and I hit Jamie for the first time. She gave me a look and tears swelled up in her eyes, and she ran out the door. I felt like such a jerk and I promised I would never let it happen again. But it did. Over and over. I felt so bad, but I just told her I was mad about my dad, and she was fine with it. I have never talked to anyone about my dad, and I never will. It's an untouchable subject. I don't like to show my emotional side in front of people. But I love Jamie. I wish things could go back to normal, and I could stop hitting her. I just can't help it. It just comes over me in one big anger wave. I don't know how to fix my problem. I came to my house now, and I saw some greaser kid walking down the road. I got out of my car and looked at him. He had kind of dark skin and black hair.

"Hey, kid, what are you doin out here alone?" he gave me a scared look, and I was surprised to hear an answer from him.

"My old man kicked me out again. Drunk." He looked at me once more and started to walk away.

"Well, do you need a ride somewhere?" I was actually kind of lonely.

"yeah, I guess." He said walking towards me. I was actually kind of happy for this, since I was lonely and I wanted to find Jamie, even though I knew she wouldn't forgive me, ever.

_**Pony's POV**_

We got to my house, and I let Jamie in. She walked in and looked around, and just stood in the doorway.

"Have a seat" I said. "I'll introduce you to the rest of the gang." I said.

"A gang?" she asked.

"Well, my friends, actually. That over there is my brother Sodapop." She smiled at his name. "and next to him is his best buddy, Steve. My oldest brother, Darry, is over there on the chair. Two-Bit is the one with beer in hand, and Dally is the one with blonde hair over there. Hey, where's Johnnycake?" I felt bad, but I hadn't noticed he was gone.

"I don't know, said he was goin somewhere." Dally said. Dally and Johnny usually hung out together when I wasn't hanging out with him.

"Well anyways, boys, this is my friend, Jamie." I said.

"Ooh, she's a looker, but not blonde." Two-Bit said

"Oh, Two-Bit, what are we going to do with you?" Darry replied. Two-Bit mumbled something under his breath and laughed. I looked at Jamie. She was so beautiful.

"You want to go to my room to talk?" I said, again hoping I wasn't going too far.

"Alright." She said. We sat there, talking about the weirdest things, baloney sandwiches, sunsets, horses, all kinds of stuff. Then there was a knock on the door. I ran to go see who it was, but I was too late. I came out into the living room to see Johnny and Shane standing in my doorway.

_Sorry it was kind of short, but I'm tired. I'll write a longer chapter next time, promise. Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_


	6. Jamie

_Okay, so here's yet another chapter. I hope you absolutely love it! I think it will be longer than the last one. Don't forget to review!!_

_**Chapter 6**_

_**Pony's POV**_

My stomach twisted and turned when I saw Shane standing in my doorway. This was not going to be pretty. Darry jumped off of the couch. Shane gave me a dirty look.

"Hey, pal, what are you doing here?" Shane got a real innocent look on his face then, and looked at Johnny.

"Nothing, my friend Johnny took me here." He coolly said.

"Your friend? Johnny?" I was so confused. How did Johnny meet Shane? And what were they doing here? Of all people to run into…

"Hey, kid, I think that's my girlfriend you've got your arms around" Shane said, starting to get a little mad. Then Jamie started to say something.

"Not anymore, Shane. I'm sick of the way you've been treating me, and I'm through with it. We are over. I could find a real gentleman to be with instead." She said, standing closer to me. This was good for me, since I was getting the girl I wanted, but Shane was going to hate me for life.

"What? Jamie! You're going to hang out with this loser?" he said pointing at me. Then, something I thought could never be done, Johnny spoke up.

"Hey, we aint losers." He calmly said.

"You know what? Fine. Go ahead. Throw away all that we have gone through. You just go right on ahead. Have a nice life." He said, turning around to walk out the door. I just looked at Johnny, and he had a blank look on his face.

"Hey, Johnny, how come you was with him?" I asked.

"He gave me a ride home, and we got to talkin"

"Really? About what?" I was very interested in hearing this one.

"nothin, really. Just about our dads and stuff. He's a pretty cool guy when you get to know him." I could tell Jamie was getting kind of upset because she said she was gonna go to the bathroom. Then I said real quietly,

"Hey, Johnny, you know that Shane hit her? Like, you know, your dad?" I said. It was kind of a touchy subject.

"Really? I would have never thought so." We totally forgot that the whole gang was listening on our conversation, and they just gave us blank stares.

"Let's go back to my room and talk." I suggested to Johnny.

"Hey, Pony, you have homework." Darry reminded me.

"Oh alright." I said, sitting at the kitchen table, leaving Johnny and Jamie to talk in my room alone. After had seemed like an hour of torturous homework, I went back to my room to talk to Jamie. I thinking about how I was going to ask her to the movies tomorrow. I went in to my room.

"Hey Jamie, want me to walk you home now?" I would ask her on the way.

"Oh, yeah, sure" she said, staring at Johnny. I couldn't stop looking at her. Man, was she pretty. I couldn't wait to take her to the movies tomorrow night. We walked out into the crisp, cold air. I was distracted and forgot my coat, so I was freezing the whole time. I was about to ask her when she broke the silence.

"Hey, Ponyboy," her voice sounded so sweet when she said my name. I felt my ears get real red, and was silently thankful for the darkness.

"yeah?" I said, trying to seem tuff.

"would you mind, um, asking Johnny out for me? He's really nice, and I don't know how to ask him. Would you do it for me? I mean, we're friends, right? So, you wouldn't mind?" I couldn't believe what this girl was saying to me. This girl that I might actually be in love with, wants me to ask my friend out for her. I couldn't believe this! But, I didn't want to see her sad, so I agreed to it. I couldn't believe what I was doing, either. So much for my plan, we just walked in silence for the rest of the way to her house. I walked up to her porch with her, and she said,

"Well, see ya Pony, thanks for walking me."

"Yeah, sure." I said not even looking at her. I was kind of being rude on purpose, and I regret every second of it. I walked home in the cold dark silence. Man was I freezing.

_**Johnny's POV**_

I heard the door open and I heard Darry start yelling.

"Ponyboy, where's your coat?" it always bothered me how Darry yelled at Ponyboy. I don't know why, I mean I get used to it by my old man, but it always made me feel uncomfortable around Pony when he was getting yelled at. Pony came stomping into the room.

"Hey, Pony, mind if I stay here tonight?" my dad had kicked me out of the house, and even though he was drunk, I was afraid to go back in there. And they didn't care if I came home or not anyways.

"I don't really care where you stay, Johnny." What was wrong with Ponyboy? And why was he taking it out on me?

"Hey, Pony, what's the matter? Huh?" I said.

"Oh, nothing, sorry. Oh, by the way, Jamie wants to know if you'll ever want to go out with her." He said. I had no idea Jamie dug me. Yeah, we talked and we had something in common, but I hadn't ever considered the thought. But oh well, why not?

"Yeah, sure. I'll probably call her and ask her to the Dingo tomorrow night." Hey, I finally had a date. Man I sure was tired.

"Hey, Pony, I think I'm just gonna go to sleep now. I'm just gonna crash on the floor. That okay?" I knew I couldn't sleep on the bed, since Soda slept there. I was always sort of them. Only because I have no brothers or sisters, and they are so close and everything. And, the couch in the living room was filled with guys.

"Yeah, night Johnnycake." He said, putting on pajamas himself. It seems like as soon as I was on the floor, I was asleep.

_**Pony's POV**_

I just sat there in bed, trying to get my mind off of Jamie and fall asleep. How could this happen? I actually fall for a girl, and she falls in love with my best buddy. I'm sure he wouldn't go out with her if I told him how I felt, but that wouldn't help anything, since she would still like him anyways. Man, how could this happen? Then, I felt Soda get into bed, and it kind of scared me, and I jumped.

"Oh, hey, Pony, didn't mean to scare ya." He said.

"Oh, no. I was jus thinking, that's all, and you kind of like broke my concentration. That's all." I said laughing. He started laughing too.

"Oh, sorry. Well, what were ya thinking about that was so important anyways?" he said, pulling the covers up.

"Oh, nothing. Hey, Soda, turn off the lights man, they're real bright" I said squinting my eyes.

"Sure, little buddy." He said turning off the lamp and laying down.

"Hey, Soda?"

"Yeah?" I was thinking about how much I was going to tell him.

"What if, you like this girl," I heard him giggle when I mentioned girl. "No, seriously. If you like a girl, and this girl likes your friend, then what do you do?" oh man, he knows that this is about me and Johnny and Jamie.

"Well, it all depends on who you are, who your friend is, and how hot the girl is." That was Soda for you.

_So? I'm sorta running out of ideas again, so….review and tell me what you all think! By the way, I changed my name._


	7. Ch 7

_Alright, here's another chapter. I'm using the ideas of the people who have reviewed! Hope you enjoy! Sorry it's short!_

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Pony's POV**_

Johnny was at my house still, since his dad kicked him out again. He slept on my floor and I almost stepped on him this morning. He was now getting ready for the date with Jamie that I wish I had. But I could he was nervous.

"Hey, Pony, what should I say?" he was fidgeting with his clean shirt that Darry had just washed for him.

"I don't know, just be yourself. After all, it is you that she is in love with, right?" I was so mad. I wish I could go with them, just to be with Jamie. This is really the first time I have ever been mad at Johnny, and he doesn't even know it.

"Yeah, okay. But myself doesn't really talk that much." Then I could hear the phone ring, and I heard Darry answer it. Then I heard my name shouted down the hallway.

"Ponyboy! Phone! It's some girl!" it was probably Jamie, because I really didn't know any other girls. I walked down the hallway and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ponyboy? Hi, it's Jamie. I'm sorry, but could you tell Johnny I can't go tonight, I'm really sorry."

"How come?" I was kind of glad to hear this, but I could tell she was crying. Why was she crying?

"Oh, I got grounded. Look, tell him I'm real sorry. It was kind of rude to ask him out and then cancel. I, I'm just, I cant." She was stuttering. Something weird was going on. Someone had forced her to not go, and I think I know who it was.

"Ok. Sure. Jamie, what's really going on? Are you okay?" I knew she wouldn't tell me, no matter how much she wanted to.

"Yeah, but" she started to whisper. "Look, Shane is back at my house. I can't talk for long. He's at the store right now, getting beer. He came back last night. I really don't even like him anymore, but I am afraid to tell him, because of what he will do to me. I saw that a guy can treat a girl way better than he has been treating me. Thank you so much for helping me, Pony. You're a great friend. See ya at school." Oh, no. This can't be happening. Why do bad things always happen to good people? I have to help Jamie. I have to. I back down to my room to go tell Johnny.

"Hey Johnnycake. We're going out. We've gotta go get Jamie before it's too late." I said grabbing my jacket. I sounded like it was a life or death situation, and I felt as if I was overreacting. And then I thought, this could be a life or death situation. That made me a little mad. How could someone be so cruel? I don't get people.

"See ya Dar, we'll be back later" I said, not looking at anyone. I just wanted to get down there as soon as I could.

"Hey, man, wait up!" he was so far behind. I guess I forgot how fast at running I really was. I was the only freshman on varsity team.

"Johnny," I yelled. "I'll meet you there." I don't know why I was doing all this. Why didn't she just call the fuzz or something? They would take care of it no sweat? This girl was none of my business, and she was into Johnny, not me. Why didn't Johnny go save her? I slowed down. Then I remembered her face. It was so sweet and beautiful. And then I also remembered her face when Shane was there. I started running even harder. I cared about this girl so much. I don't want to see her hurt, ever. How are me and Johnny supposed to take him out? He's huge, and way older. And to make matters worse, me and Johnny were scrawny. I could see her house, and I was at a dead sprint. I skipped all the steps on the porch and opened the door. Shane was no where in sight, and Jamie was on the floor, passed out.

_Alright, not the best chapter, huh? Sorry they're short, but I'm writing another one right now, and I'm going to finish this story soon. Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_


	8. Weird

_Sorry I didn't add the last chapter so fast, but my computer was suffering some issues, but a few good smacks and everything was alright. Just kidding :) But sorry my computer does act stupid once in a while. Well, here you go!_

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Pony's POV**_

How could this be happening? What was I getting myself into? This was like some movie I'd seen before or something. I scooped Jamie off of the floor, and walked outside. I figured Shane was inside somewhere, so I hurried. I started to fast walk down the road. About five minutes later, I saw Johnny. He was coming from around the block and was running hard. He seen me and started walking. He caught up to me and turned around to walk with me. He gave me a familiar look. It was sad, depressed, lost, confused. Poor Johnnycake.

"So, uh, Shane did this huh?" poor, poor, Johnny. He knew what she was going through. That's probably why they got along so well.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna take her home, to my house. Well, until she wakes up anyways. She called me. Before I came here. She told me she didn't want him there, and I knew something was wrong, so I had to. I can't stand it when people are like this. And a girl, too." My voice was cracking. I don't know why. I didn't want to sound like some kind of baby. But sometimes I just can't help it. The tears just come, and nothing can stop them. One fell down my face, but I quickly wiped it away, almost dropping Jamie. She wasn't really that heavy, so I wasn't getting tired, really.

"Yeah, I'm used to it by my old man, but man, her parents don't even know about it. And yeah, no girl should be treated like that. It's just terrible. Horrible. Why can't people be just ordinary people? Why do people act like this? Huh? She didn't do nothing. We were talking about it the other night. It's just not fair. Nothing is fair" he was starting to get upset, too, so I stayed quiet. We were almost around her block when I heard a door open and slam shut. It was Shane. I felt my heart drop all the way to my stomach. He saw us down the road, and got in his car. He had a beer in hand, and by the way he wobbled and struggled opening the car door I could tell he was drunk. He drove down the road so fast, and I jumped off the street. He went to go hit us, and instead ran into a tree on the side of the road. I've never seen anything like it before. Only in my nightmare with Mom and Dad. The car crashed into the tree, and branches went through the windshield. I thought I was going to throw up, but I slung Jamie over my shoulder and started running. I had to run away. I couldn't handle this. I had to tell Darry. Or somebody. Someone outside their window would see Shane and call the fuzz.

"Johnny," he was keeping up with me, since I was going a little slower because I had Jamie over my shoulder. "What are we gonna do, man?" he got that look again, and I could see a hint of fear in his eyes.

"I don't know, man. Is he gonna live? It's all our faults. What should we do?"

"It's okay, Johnnycake. It's not our faults. Someone across the street is gonna call. It's okay. We had nothing to do with it. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay. It's okay" I was just a little spooked, that's all. We finally got home, and Johnny opened the door for me. As usual, Darry was reading the paper on the chair, and Steve and Soda were playing poker in the kitchen. I walked in and laid Jamie on the couch. Darry stood up and walked over to me.

"What happened, little buddy?" Soda came into the room, and Steve just sat at the table, shuffling cards.

"I went to her house, and she was on the floor passed out, and then Shane came out of the house drunk and drove down the road and crashed into a tree and" I said in one big breath. "Is she going to be okay?" I cared about Jamie more than anything right now. I wanted to cry, but it wasn't a big deal. I was just kind of mixed up. Scared. I wish mom and dad were here. I went over and hugged Soda.

"Soda, I'm confused" I said quietly, so only he could hear.

"It's gonna be okay, Pone." He put his arm around me like he always does. That always makes me feel better.

"Where's this guy at?" Darry sounded worried. I don't know why.

"About 20 or 30 blocks from here." Johnny said.

"You guys were out walking that far?" Darry walked outside and got in the car. I just sat down on the chair, and looked at Johnny.

"what are we going to do about Jamie?" I asked, not even caring about Steve, who walked into the room. He was staring at me, and I didn't like it.

"I don't know. My dad is the same way with me, but I got somewhere to go, and she doesn't. I don't know." Johnny stared at her. So did I. Then, as if as soon as I looked at her, Jamie started to move around. She woke up, and looked around. She got a confused look on her face.

"Where am I?" she said forcefully.

"It's okay, Jamie. I carried you to my house. You've only been here about a half an hour." She was okay with that. She got a content look on her face. "yeah, well, Shane. He was drunk and crashed into a tree." I really didn't want to tell the story for a second time. I felt for some reason that it was our faults. Really, mine. I couldn't help but feel bad. She just stared with a blank expression. Soda and Steve went back into the kitchen, and I was happy for that. I didn't want them to hear.

"I know he was drunk. He's been drunk. He hit me real hard. I'm so sick of it. I just want him to go away, and leave me alone. I'm so, so sick of it." I felt so bad for her.

"Why don't you tell your parents?" that was nagging at me.

"Pony. My parents don't care about me. Some nights they don't even come home. I don't have any brothers or sisters, so I'm home alone with him sometimes." I started to feel bad. I could tell that was a sensitive spot. Her eyes were starting to water. I didn't want to see her cry again. Johnny was just sitting on the floor, lost in thought. I sat down next to Jamie and put my arm around her. Not around the shoulders, but in a hug-like way. The way Soda does to me.

"It's okay, Jamie. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you have to go through all this, and I'm sorry things are the way they are. You don't deserve any of this." I didn't know what advice to give to a girl, but I guess it was good enough, because she just rested her head on my shoulders for a long time. Darry walked in.

"Shane is in the hospital" he said, taking off his shoes.

_Ok, so there you have it. A little corny? Sorry, I'm in that kind of mood. : ) I love sappy stories. I really hope you like it, and I'm probably going to add more later tonight. Review!!_


	9. Somewhat Better

_Okay, chapter 9, here it is. I'm going to end this story soon. I hope you like it!!_

_**Chapter 9**_

_**Pony's POV**_

There wasn't much conversation in the car. There isn't much to talk about on the way to the hospital. Jamie just stared out the window. I was in the middle and Johnny was next to me. Soda was in front and Darry was driving. I don't know why Soda wanted to come. I guess he was bored, since Steve was out with Evie. Nobody said a word. It was awkward. Especially since Soda is never quiet. So much for that.

"Hey Darry, why are girls so weird?" Soda can be random at times.

"What are you talking about?" Darry took his eyes off the road for a minute and cocked an eyebrow, just like Two-Bit.

"Okay. There's this girl. She comes into the gas station, and said hi, so I said hi." Soda just stared out the windshield.

"And?" Darry said, looking at him again.

"And, that's it" Soda gave him a weird look, which made me kind of laugh.

"What? What was the point of this?" Darry started to smile.

"I don't know. Everybody is being so quiet. I couldn't think of anything to say, so…yeah." He said 'yeah' real fast and looked out the window. Soda is so weird. We finally got there, and went to go find his room. I don't know why Jamie wanted to go see him. We found his room, and she almost ran in there, and kneeled at his bed. Why would she want to see him?

"Shane" she said. I could tell she was going to cry, but I don't know why. Girls sure were weird. Good thing there was a nurse in the room, I'm not sure if Shane would have done anything to her.

"Oh, hey, Jamie. What's up?" by the way he was talking, he sounded like he could be her brother, or just a normal guy who hadn't done anything wrong.

"Nothing. How're you doing?" why would she care? She said she wasn't into him anymore.

"Oh, I don't know. They said my legs were broken, and my arm was pinched pretty bad in the tree." He looked so innocent, and it almost killed me to see him lying there. Then another nurse came in. She whispered something to the other nurse, and then looked at us.

"I'm afraid you need to leave now." the nurse said. We walked out into the hallway, and the nurse followed us out.

"He okay?" Jamie asked. Again, I don't know why. Why does she care? This was driving me up the wall. Would she come to visit me if I were in the hospital? Does she care for me like I do her? I decided I was going to ask her out tonight no matter what happened. I had to ask her before anyone asked her, or she asked anyone else. This was the first girl I had ever even had a crush on. My old neighbor in the first grade doesn't count, either. The nurse looked at her and said,

"Yes, he's fine at the moment. But it looks like he's so young and has had too much alcohol in his system. He might have liver poisoning, and a really bad case at that. He's just so young that his body can't take it." Jamie's face seemed to get a sadden look in her face, which made me more jealous. I put my arm around her like Soda does when he wants to comfort me.

"It's okay, Jamie." I knew there was nothing we could do about it, and we had nothing to do with causing it. Yes, it was sad, but Shane was a mean guy. He did mean things to innocent people. She looked at me with a deathly look.

"Pony, this is all my fault." What?? Was she going crazy? How could this be her fault at all? But I just tried to comfort her.

"Oh, Jamie. No it's not."

"Yes it is. I was such a bad girlfriend. I should of talked to him about his dad, but instead, he just took up drinking, and now he's…well…look at him, and it's all because of me." She had tears streaming down her cheeks now. I didn't know what to say, and thankfully, Darry put a hand on my shoulder and said,

"she's just been in a situation that a girl her age shouldn't be in. It's going to be okay, Jamie, don't worry about it." Darry actually had something comforting to say for once. But sadly he was right. No one should ever have to go through this, period. I wonder why nobody feels that bad for Johnny. Maybe because she is a girl. Or maybe, because her parents don't know about it. that reminded me.

"Hey, Jamie, you know you've got to tell your parents?" she had to.

"Oh, I don't know. Well, they wouldn't care anyways."

"So what. You're going to tell them. Even if they don't care, I do." I wish I didn't say that, because I didn't want her to know how I really felt about her. My ears were flaming red and I thought that they would fall off if they got any hotter.

"Thanks, Pony. You're a great friend." Darry dropped me and Jamie off at her house and told me to not be home after midnight. I guess since it was a Saturday night he didn't mind as much. We just sat on the couch and waited for her parents to get home.

"So, uh, what time do they usually get home?" I was hoping not too late, because if I came home too late, Darry would kill me.

"Oh, I don't know. Sometimes 10. Sometimes 11, Sometimes 11:30, sometimes midnight. Sometimes they don't even come home at all."

"Well, Darry said I have to be home at least by midnight. And I knew he was being nice, since he usually makes me go to bed around 11." She looked at the clock at the wall, and it read 9:48 I was hoping they would come home soon. I wanted to stay, but I didn't want to get in trouble. I hated getting in trouble by Darry. And Soda hated it when we fought, so I tried to avoid it period.

"Yeah, so Darry takes care of you? He's your brother?" I really still don't like to talk about my parents. I don't know why, its been almost a year. They were just so important to me, and I didn't want to let go of them. They left so soon and I didn't even get to say goodbye. Then I realized that I hadn't answered her question yet.

"Oh yeah. My parents, uh…they um, died." I said quietly. I hated saying that, because it made it true. If I didn't say anything, then I would always pretend that they would come home everyday, and I would go to sleep knowing they wouldn't, but hoping they would. I am not fully over the fact that they left so suddenly. I was so young. I was only 13 years old. They wouldn't even see me graduate. Or get married. Or get my first car, or even drive at all. They would never see me get my own house, have kids, and start a family of my own. I wish that they could have been here for a few things. They got to see Darry graduate. And at least they got to see Soda go to high school. I wish they hadn't died. I really miss them a lot. I tried to stop thinking about it, because I didn't want tears to form in my eyes. Jamie almost made me jump by saying,

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about it. I didn't know."

"It's fine" I said looking away. Then, after what seemed like a lifetime, Jamie's mother walked in the door. She looked at Jamie, then at me, and took off her shoes.

"Hey mom, how was work?" Jamie just sat there and looked at her.

"Ok, I guess." She started to walk into the kitchen.

"Hey, mom. I need to tell you something." She started to fidget with her hands now.

"Do you have to tell me now?" she put a burrito in the microwave, and was getting something to drink out.

"Yeah, it's kind of important."

"Ok, I guess so." She didn't really look interested.

"Well, you know Shane, my boyfriend, right?" she got the burrito out of the microwave and started shoveling it in her face.

"Yeah" she said with a mouthful of burrito.

"Well, he's in the hospital right now." her mom just kept eating. "Yeah, and he might have liver poisoning. And, well. Mom, Shane has been abusing me. All those bruises were from him, and he always hit me." This hardly even phased her. She set down her burrito and still kept a straight face.

"Well, good. He's in the hospital, he's got what's coming to him." she picked up the burrito and kept eating.

"Ok, whatever, mom. I'm staying the night at Ponyboy's house." Jamie was starting to get upset, and pulled me out the door by my arm.

"See ya." Her mom said, putting her plate in the sink. How could you be so careless about your child? How could a parent like this live and be perfectly fine, when normal good parents who actually tried to take care of their kids and loved them die? Why do things work this way? It didn't make sense to me at all. Jamie was starting to get upset, and I could see tears in her eyes.

"Pony, how come she doesn't care about me?" she kept asking questions that I didn't know the answers to.

"I'm not sure, but it's alright." I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Sometimes I wonder if anyone cares about me. Or why I'm needed in the world" this girl was breaking my heart. She looked so sad, and I hated that.

"I care about you, Jamie. You can always count on me to be there for you. Okay?" I was hoping that it would make her feel a little better, and it did. She stopped in the middle of the road and gave me a hug.

"I keep saying this Pony, but its true. You're such a good friend." She started cheering up, so I said,

"Race you to my house, go!" I started, but I let her catch up, and I let her beat me all the way to my house.

_Okay, I did this real fast, I've been busy lately. I hope you like this and I hope you review!_


	10. More Happiness

_Alright, here's another chapter. I might not be able to put it on for a while, since my power is out. I am on a laptop, but I cant get online…_

**Disclaim- I don't own the Outsiders.**

_**Chapter 10**_

_**Pony's POV**_

I let Jamie win the race to my house. She was so tired when we got back. It was around 11:30, which was perfect since Darry said to be home by midnight. I opened the door to find Darry sitting alone in the living room on the chair reading the newspaper like he always does.

"Hey, little buddy. Got company?" he nodded at Jamie.

"Yeah, is it alright if she stays for the night? She kinda got upset with her mom and stuff." I was hoping he would say yes, but he might say no, since she was a girl and all.

"Yeah. That's fine, but Pony, she's gotta stay in Soda's old room, ya hear? Anything funny and I'll skin you got it?" I was planning on her staying in Soda's room anyways. I just wanted her to feel a little better, happier.

"Yeah, I understand. But I'm tired. I'm gonna go to bed now." I started to yawn.

"Alright. Good night, kiddo. Good night, Jamie. If you need anything, I'm right down the hall."

"Ok, thanks, uh…Darry"

"Yeah. Anytime." He continued with the paper. I walked down the hall to Soda's old room. I picked up some clothes that were laying on the floor. I don't know why they were there, though.

"Here's Soda's room. Bathroom's right down there, and you know where my room is. If you need anything, just give a holler. Night." I shut the door and went to my own room.

"Night." I heard Jamie say from inside. I went to my room, and surprisingly enough, Soda was laying in the bed, just staring at the ceiling. Odd. I put on some pajamas and crawled under the covers with Soda.

"Soda? You okay?" I looked at him. He had a blank expression on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a fight with Sandy." He looked at me. "Girls can be so weird." Then he propped his head on his elbow.

"Yeah, I know." I was kind of not listening. I was mostly thinking about Jamie. I think she just wants to be friends with me. And then I remembered that I forgot to ask her out the other night. I wanted to kick myself for that. Soda was still staring at me.

"You like her, huh?" it's kind of weird how much Soda knows me sometimes.

"Who?" I was trying to avoid the subject. I didn't want Jamie to hear across the hall.

"Jamie. Don't play dumb!" he started to smile, and that made me smile.

"Oh, yeah. She's here now. She's in your room tonight. Hope ya don't mind."

"I know. I heard you guys come in. Yeah, it's fine. It's not my room anymore, remember? This is our room. Jeez, I'm the smart one tonight!" he started laughing and rolled over, and I did the same. I really was tired. The second I turned over I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning, and Soda wasn't there. Which automatically meant I had to do the dishes. But to my surprise, Soda was up making breakfast, and Darry was sleeping still. It was 10, and usually he was up by then. On a Sunday, too. I totally forgot that Jamie was here, and I went into Soda's room. She was still sleeping on the bed. She looked so peaceful. And I mean it. Not like when people are dead and look peaceful. People always said that about my parents, but I never saw them as peaceful when I saw them. They just lay there, still. Didn't look so peaceful to me. But Jamie did, and her face was so beautiful. But I didn't want to stare, so I went to go see what Soda was making. Or attempting to make. He had some pancakes in a pan, but the ones on the plate were already burnt. Soda wasn't so good at cooking. He noticed my presence and said,

"Oh hey, sleeping beauty. Want some pancakes? Made 'em myself!" he smiled, and I didn't want to criticize his hard work and effort.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." I was really hungry, so I didn't care what I ate as long as it was food. Soda opened the fridge and pulled out a plate of chocolate cake.

"Want some cake, too?" he said, putting it on my plate anyways. I grabbed some chocolate milk out of the fridge. Boy, was I off to a healthy start. Pancakes, cake and chocolate milk. But we always had chocolate milk and cake. I liked it that way. Then I sat down at the table and started eating when Darry came out. He didn't say anything and grabbed a piece of cake, coffee, and some of Soda's burnt pancakes.

"Black, huh? You going through some kind of black phase now?" he said laughing. Soda gave a slight frown that quickly turned to his famous grin.

"Oh, shut it, or I'll whoop you a good one." He said waving his spatula.

"Oh yeah I'd like to see you try, little man." Mornings like this made me happy. When we were all happy and getting along, joking with each other. That's the way it was before Mom and Dad. I didn't like it so much when Soda was sad about Sandy, or when Darry yelled at me. Then, Jamie woke up. She came out of the room, in jeans and a shirt. Her hair was a little messy, though. And she had a little makeup smudged under her eye. I still thought she was the most beautiful girl I ever saw. She came in and sat at the table.

"Hey. Sleep good?" Darry asked her.

"Yeah." She mumbled. I could tell she had a rough night. Poor Jamie.

"Want some pancakes? I made them!" Soda said, handing her a plate full. She gave them a weird look.

"Yeah, Soda's not the worlds greatest chef, actually, he doesn't cook well at all." I said. He came over to me and hit me in the back of the head. Not hard, though.

"Ya'll shouldn't make fun of my cooking. I could've poisoned it!" he made a fake evil laugh, and it made me giggle a little. Soda sure was funny. I picked up the plate of cake and cut Jamie a piece. I set it on her plate and she gave another face.

"Yeah, we usually have cake with breakfast, and chocolate milk, too." I poured her some of that, too. Darry looked at me and said,

"What are you gonna do today?" that was kind of weird, because he never asks me that.

"I don't know. Don't have anything planned, why?"

"Just wondering, that's all." He went back to finishing his black pancakes. I was just about done too. Soda had already eaten, and Jamie was about half done. I put my plate in the sink, and Darry did too. So did Jamie.

"You can finish that, you know." I said looking at her half-full plate.

"Yeah, I know. It's just more than I can eat." She said looking down. I must've given her too much. I didn't realize how much we really did eat. Oh well. Me and Darry had to do the dishes, since Soda cooked. Jamie sat on the couch with Soda and watched Mickey. After I was done I walked into the living room and asked Jamie,

"Hey, want to go to the park?" she stared at the TV screen for a minute, then looked at me.

"Sure. Let's go" we put our shoes and jackets on and left.

It was kind of cold outside, considering it was only morning. We were talking about Soda and his burnt pancakes when I interrupted,

"Hey Jamie, I've been thinking, and, well, do you want to go out with me sometime?" yes, I had finally done it. I had finally asked her. I was just waiting to hear her response. We had walked far enough to where we were already past the park, but were in Jamie's neighborhood. She looked at me, and said,

"Oh, yeah. Sure. How about tonight?" I felt my heart skip a beat, or maybe 5. We turned onto Jamie's street.

"Ok, I'll pick you up here, but I'll have to bring somebody who can drive us. That okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Alright, I'll be here by 6:30 at least." We were up to her door by then,

"Sounds great." She said, kissing my cheek. I thought I might explode. She walked in and shut the door. I have never felt happier.

I ran all the way home and I ripped the door open, and started to dance and sing some Elvis song in the living room. Soda and Darry came out and Soda said,

"I think Pony's got himself his first date!"

_So? Good? I might add more tonight if I can. The battery is already going low, and I don't know if I will have power by then. I hope you liked it!! Review!!!_


	11. A Day With Jamie

_Okay, powers back, so I'm going to write more! Hope you like!_

**Disclaim- I do not own the Outsiders**

_**Chapter 11**_

_**Pony's POV**_

I was so happy, I can't even explain it! I was going out with the girl of my dreams, in just 2 hours! I didn't know what to do with myself, so I just sat and read. Then, Soda and Darry came in, and just stood in front of me with smiles on their faces. I stopped my reading and looked up at them. They smiled bigger and Soda said,

"Hey Pony. Whatcha doin?" he said, too happy. I blankly looked at him.

"What does it look like I'm doing? If I have a book, I'm probably reading." They giggled.

"Hey, Pony. What are you doing tonight?" Darry asked.

"Why?"

"Oh, no reason."

"Except you got a date!" Soda burst out. "Pony's got himself a girlie-friend!" he started to laugh.

"Yeah so what. Stop botherin me about it and go away." I tried to start reading again, and I felt my ears turn crimson.

"Hey don't get smart kid. You going with Jamie?" Darry said.

"Yeah." I tried not to sound too excited.

"What time you leavin?"

"Around 6. I told her I would be there around 6:30."

"Alright, just be back by 11. You have school in the morning."

"Ok" I said. I really was trying to read my book. I got it from school. It's called _To Kill A Mockingbird._ It was pretty good. I liked it. But it was 5:30 so I decided to go get in the shower. When I got out, I put on a clean pair of the nicest jeans I had (without holes or stains). Then I put on a nice clean shirt and a nice jacket. I didn't want to look exactly like a greaser for such a pretty girl. I didn't put too much grease in my hair. Actually, I hardly put in any. I combed it back like I normally do. I put my shoes on and told Darry I was leaving. I started walking down the street when I realized that I had no ride. I would normally walk, but I didn't want Jamie to have to walk all the way to the Dingo. I went to Two-Bit's house. Luckily, he was there and so was his car. I went up there and knocked on the door. It was Two-Bit's sister who had a crush on me. She looked at me and smiled.

"Hey Pony. You're looking awful nice. Did you come here to see me?" I just looked at her.

"Hi. Can I talk to Two-Bit?" I said, sticking my hands in my pockets. She gave a look of disappointment and looked at the floor.

"Oh, sure" she turned around and yelled, "Two-Bit! It's Ponyboy!" and it almost made me jump, since she was so quiet at first. Two-Bit came to the door with a beer in hand.

"Oh hey Ponyboy. What's up?"

"Hey, Two-Bit. Want to go to the Dingo with me? I need a ride." He smiled and cocked his eyebrow.

"Ooh! Pony's got a girl! Blonde?" I cant believe he didn't remember.

"No, smarty. Remember Jamie?" he looked around and said,

"Oh yeah! Yeah, Cathy's here right now. I'll bring her along too. Go get in the car." I walked to his car. I opened the door and it squeaked. I hoped he didn't have too much to drink. Thinking about this, I remembered Shane. Two-Bit walked out to the car, and fidgeted with the handle. I asked him cautiously from the back seat,

"Hey, Two-Bit, how many beers did you have?"

"Oh, don't worry. That was my first one. Surprisingly. It's okay." Cathy got in the passenger seat and Two-Bit started up the car. "do you want me and Cathy to sit with you at the booth, or do you want to sit alone at a table?" he emphasized the word _alone _and started to laugh. We got to Jamie's house in about 10 minutes. Two-Bit drives kind of fast. But not as fast as Dally. I walked up to the door and knocked on the door. I waited for about a half a minute, and realized I was just about on time. It was 6:34. Man, was I good. Finally, Jamie's mom answered the door, and it kind of scared me.

"Hello." I said.

"Who are you?" she said, and I could tell she was drunk.

"I'm Ponyboy Curtis." She snorted at my name, and laughed. "I'm here to pick up Jamie" she looked me up and down, and called,

"Jamie! Horsieboy is here for you!" What was it with drunk people? Jamie came down the stairs in a mini skirt and a tank top with a sweater. Her hair was in a half-ponytail, or whatever they call it. Her skirt wasn't too short, and her tank top was the right size. Just the way I like it. She was wearing a pretty necklace and hoop earrings. She had a little bit of make up, but she didn't paint it on like most greaser girls. I just stared.

"Hey, Ponyboy."

"Hey, Jamie. You look, beautiful." She really did. I felt kind of bad because she looked so much nicer than me, and I hoped she didn't really mind.

"Thanks." She gave a little laugh, and she started to blush. "Bye, mom." She said.

"Later." Her mom almost shoved us out the door and slammed it. How could Jamie live with that? And where was her dad? I didn't want to ask her all those questions, so we just got into the backseat of the car. The whole ride there was mostly laughing, knowing Two-Bit. He knows how to make things less nervous. He told jokes the whole way there.

We got the Dingo, and we got our own tables, but they were right next to each other. Jamie looked at me. I looked at her, and I felt a weird feeling in my stomach. I really liked her.

_**Jamie's POV**_

I was at the Dingo with Ponyboy. I really like him. I thought he just liked me as a friend. He looked good tonight, and his friend Two-Bit was nice. I thought Pony was kind of cute. I really like his green eyes. They are so beautiful. Then he looked down and said,

"What are you gonna get?" I had totally forgotten about food. I was too busy thinking about what it would be like if my name was _Jamie Curtis _ and staring into Pony's big green eyes.

"Oh, uh a salad I guess." I wasn't really hungry. I was too nervous. No guy had ever asked me out before, besides Shane. Nobody my age, anyways. I didn't know what to say. He gave me a look.

"That's it?"

"Yeah. I'm not that hungry anyways." He folded up the menu and said,

"Oh, well, we can go see a movie, if you want." Oh how sweet! He was willing to change his mind and go somewhere else just for me! He actually wanted to do something for _me_! This was nice.

"Oh, no. No that's fine." He smiled and said to me,

"You know, Jamie, I really… I really like you." His ears were turning red, and I thought it was cute.

"Aww, I like you, too, Ponyboy." I was smiling at him, and he gave a little one back.

"Um, would you like…to. Um, be my girlfriend?"

"Yes!" I said, not trying to sound too excited. Yes!! I had a brand new boyfriend. One who cared about me and was nice to me! I was so happy, and I think I was in love.

_**Pony's POV**_

I have a girlfriend! A beautiful, smart girlfriend! I wanted to jump around yelling, but I didn't. I had to hold it in, which was hard. I smiled at her. I just sat there and smiled. We ordered our food, and was out of there. I got our check, and told Two-Bit me and Jamie were gonna walk around.

"Thanks for the ride, man."

"Anytime, grease." He said with a wink. This was one of the happiest nights of my life. Me and Jamie walked outside. It was kind of cold, and I zipped up my jacket, and so did Jamie. I tried to imagine what it would be like to wear a skirt. We walked down the road, and not before long we were holding hands. Things were moving kind of fast, but it didn't matter. I was with the girl of my dreams. We walked to the park, and we talked about everything in the world. Then, we got to the subject of Jamie's parents.

"How come your dad is never home?" I didn't mean to sound intrusive, but I wanted to know real bad.

"Oh, he walked out on my mom right after I was born. I don't know him." she seemed really comfortable talking about it, and wondered why I couldn't talk about my parents like that. Maybe because I had gotten to know them, and was a lot older when they died.

"And my mom is trying to support me and her with a job at a restaurant. It's nice, but she just washes dishes, so she doesn't get much pay. And then, she goes and wastes it all on beer and stuff, and gets drunk. Then she gets all mad at me, and doesn't care about me. I don't know why. I don't think I ever did anything to deserve it. I just wish I could have a normal life with normal parents." She was starting to get a little upset, so I left it alone.

"Yeah, me too." She quickly looked over, and said,

"Oh I'm sorry Pony. I didn't mean" I cut her off.

"It's okay. I like livin with Darry and Soda. We usually get along fine." We kept walking and we ended up at her house somewhere around 10:30. I walked her up the steps to the porch, and I held her hands. She still looked so pretty.

"I had a lot of fun tonight, Ponyboy. I hope we can go out some more." I smiled, then leaned in and kissed her. We kissed for what seemed like years, but was only a few moments. I would never forget those few moments, either. It seemed like a movie. It was all perfect.

"Ok, call you tomorrow. See you later." I said, waving, stepping off the porch. She waved back and shut the door. I walked home, actually skipped. I had just had the best night of my life.

I walked through my door at 11:00, and I didn't see Darry in the window. He was in the kitchen reading the paper, which was weird.

"Hey Darrel!" I said, half skipping to my room.

"Hey, kid. How was your date?" he looked up from his paper. He actually looked interested.

"Oh, Darry. It was great! She said she would be my girlfriend!" he set down the paper, and smiled.

"Good for you, little buddy. Now get to bed, you've got school."

"Where's Soda?"

"Little man's still out with Steve. Should be home in a half an hour or so. Don't wait up for him. You need sleep. Good night, Pony."

"Night Darry." Sleep wasn't hard to get to, since I knew I was going to dream about Jamie.

_Alright? How did I do? I think I will finish it next chapter. Hope you liked! Review!!_


	12. The End

_Alright, here's the last chapter, and I hope that I get a lot of reviews!! Hope you like!_

Disclaim- I do not own the Outsiders.

_**Chapter 12**_

_**Pony's POV**_

I picked up the phone and dialed Jamie's phone number, which I had quickly memorized. It rang a few times, and then someone picked up. A familiar voice.

"Oh hey, Pony. I've been waiting for you to call." Then she quickly said "I mean, I'm glad you called. Hi." This made me chuckle a bit. She was so cute.

"Hey, Jamie. What's up?" I said in my tuffest voice.

"Oh nothing. Home alone again. Shane is out of the hospital. He's fine with a few bruises, but he has to go to rehab for his alcohol problem. And he has to see a therapist and anger management person to deal with this problems." This relieved me. I didn't want some creep touching Jamie ever again. It hurt me enough when I only liked her. now I think I might actually love her. I know we've only been going out for one day, but she's the most wonderful girl I've ever met.

"Oh, that's good." I said kind of quiet. I hope she didn't have any feelings for him still. She must have read my mind or something because she said,

"Don't worry. I am so over him. Pony, I've seen how a guy can treat a girl. Well, I mean nicely. You're really sweet Ponyboy. I love you. I do." This made me get some butterflies in my stomach. It felt weird, but I didn't mind it so much. I just liked the sound of Jamie's voice. We talked for at least an hour and a half when Darry stood behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey little man, you've been on that phone for an hour and a half. You know who's got to pay the phone bill around here, lover boy? Rap it up. Say your 'love yous' and kissie kissies." He started to laugh and walked away.

"Okay. See you later, Jamie." I was ready to hang up when she said,

"Love you" I smiled and felt a wave of happiness come over me.

"Love you too." And I hung up the phone.

_It was real short, but it was the end. Tell me what you think! The story is done!! Review!!_


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